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Category Archives: Health


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Salad Days

"Super Foods" salad with about a gazillion ingredients.

“Super Foods” salad with about a gazillion ingredients.

I never actually understood that term. I think it means good times, right? As in, “ah, those were the salad days.” But I don’t really understand why. What’s so great about a salad?

Salads are a bunch of work. They takes lots of small bits of ingredients and toss them all together. All of those ingredients have their own needs, like the need for washing and cutting. It’s quite labor intensive, if you ask me, for not such a great reward. I don’t HATE salads. In fact there are several salads that I like a lot. Chipotle has a wonderful salad that packs in the veggies and protein and tastes great. So does Wildflower Bakery. In fact, most places that are salad friendly do, but the problem is that I usually want the OTHER good stuff that’s on their menus. Still, when I do order a salad, I usually enjoy it.

The issue is making salads at home. You have to buy all those different ingredients and by the time you’re done you have a massive salad fit for a crowd, or you have lots of leftover veggies. Either way it’s a pain in the neck. Thank goodness for Pinterest and the popularity of mason jar salads.

I was skeptical at first, but then I saw a few of my colleagues jump on the bandwagon, and they were eating delicious salads each day with just one prep session. I poked around a bit more on the internet and learned that, like everything else, there are different methods for prepping these salads. I decided to modify what I read and do it my way.

My own personal preference is to keep the dressing separate and add it when I’m ready to eat. I put the following pre-washed wide-mouth mason jars:

black beans (one can split, rinsed and drained)

Mexican style canned corn (one can split, rinsed)

sliced red pepper

chicken breast strips

lettuce and spinach to the top

This week I plan to add in sliced mushrooms. One week I had some leftover shredded cheddar, so I added that and it stayed good all week.

One day of prep is no problem. These salads are excellent for lunch, and they fill me up. Still, I’m not above purchasing a ready-made salad from the store, particularly if it has 27 different ingredients in it, like my “Super Foods” salad from Whole Foods. In the words of a famous internet meme, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”


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I Might Not Starve After All

Monday marks the end of week two in my latest journey into the world of mindful eating, and I’ve gotta say, so far, so good.

I started off at about a 7 out of 10 on the motivation scale, but after my first meeting with the nutritionist, I walked out of her office at about an 8. These last two weeks have kept me in the 8-9 range, so I’m not hating life. In fact, I’m starting to notice a few small positive changes.

First off, I feel good about the things that I’m eating. Am I perfect? Not by a long shot, but I’ve made many small changes for the better, and I feel good about that. I still have a couple of Hot Tamales candies most evenings, but instead of an entire box, I eat about 7 or 8 of them. There were a few boxes in the pantry when I started, so I opened them all into a jar so I wouldn’t have the “finish the box” syndrome, and it’s working. I enjoy my treat, then move on.e08765a78b883020497b53dd7d25a555

I’ve also realized that there are other foods that work for me, instead of against me. Who knew I would enjoy V8 so much, or natural almonds? And the Clif protein bars? Yum!

I’m still eating dinner with the family, but we’ve been having good home cooked meals (swordfish, anyone?) and even meals out have been carefully chosen. I’m feeling pretty good, and I’m hopeful that this time I can keep up the momentum.

One of the things that I’m focused on right now is limiting carbs, and it isn’t because of calories. The thing about carbs is that they turn to sugars and then the body produces insulin to process them (at least that’s the way I understood it, don’t quote me, I’m not a medical professional). The body I live in needs to produce less insulin, so fewer carbs (and Hot Tamales candies) are the order of the day.

I can honestly say I’m looking forward to my next visit with the nutritionist. I’m feeling energized and positive, and I’m interested to hear her feedback, as well as step on the scale. Even if it didn’t move, I know that the changes I’m making are having a positive effect on my body, and that’s something to feel good about.


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One Week Down (not quite) and a Million Weeks to Go

Hello my dear readers. I’m sure you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seats to find out all about the visit I paid to the nutritionist last week. Well, here it is in a nutshell: it didn’t suck. I expected it to, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Some reasons why it didn’t suck:

  1. She was nice.
  2. She asked me what I like.
  3. She DID NOT make me hop on the scale first thing.
  4. She DID NOT make me ban anything from my diet.
  5. She asked me where my motivation was on a 1-10 scale and was fine with my completely honest 7.
  6. She DID NOT ask me to keep a food diary.
  7. She showed me specific numbers from my most recent blood work and explained how my diet affects those numbers.
  8. She DID NOT treat me like an idiot.
  9. She took her time explaining things to me and answering my questions.
  10. She was nice.

Honestly, I knew some of what she shared but I learned some new things too. I came away armed with some strategies that are totally do-able and somehow that 7 has ticked over to at least an 8. And yes, I did get on the scale before I left, because I wanted a starting point. I made a follow-up appointment too, and so far, so good. I have a feeling that appointment will go well.